A suspended railway has at least one upper suspension cable supported at intervals at towers and following a caternary path between the towers each of which is provided at its top with an upwardly convex carrying saddle over which the suspension cable passes (see copending application Ser. No. 956,652 filed Nov. 1, 1978. Suspended from this upper cable by means of a plurality of horizontally spaced upright cables or suspenders of different length is one or more lower track cables that define a generally straight and noncaternary path which may be level or inclined. In a light-duty low-speed system a passenger or freight car bogey or truck rides directly on the track cable.
In a heavy-duty system the track cable carries a rigid track (see now abandoned copending application Ser. No. 956,442 filed Nov. 1, 1978 on which the passenger or freight car rides (see German patent publication No. 1,905,686). Such a rigid track greatly decreases lateral sway, that is displacement of the track and car in a horizontal direction transverse of the direction of travel longitudinally along the cables, and permits heavy loads to be transported at high speeds.
The hangers for such a railway are normally simple pieces of cable having their upper ends secured to the suspension cable and their lower ends secured to eyes on the track. This type of suspension allows considerable displacement of the track relative to the suspension cable. In fact the ability of the track to twist about a horizontal axis generally parallel to the track and closely spaced from the upper surface thereof allows a high side wind to set the track vibrating in extremely hazardous manner that can prohibit any use of such a track.
A suspended railway system is normally provided at each of the towers with at least one reinforcement beam (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,208,969) which imparts to the track between the towers in the unloaded condition a negative curve, downward concavity, that is straightened out when these sections between the towers are loaded by the car traveling along the track (see German patent publication No. 2,149,871). Such a reinforcement beam is needed because it is impossible to provide hangers at the normal spacing directly under the tower whose saddle must permit at least limited longitudinal shifting of the cable. The amount of vertical deflection at the tower is minimal so that it is even possible to mount such a reinforcing beam on the tower.
Stations (see copending application Ser. No. 956,443 filed Nov. 1, 1978 must be provided along such a suspended railway for loading and unloading. Whether they are way stations through which the railway passes or terminal stations at which the transport path ends, such stations are invariably supported fixedly relative to the ground and are provided with stationary guide and support structure for the cars which must be fully stationary during any loading and unloading.